Rotary engine.



K. J. HOKANSON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1909.

949,431. Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

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Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KARL J. HOKANSON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL J. I'IOKANSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Rotary Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in rotary engines and its object is to provide a simple and efiicient engine wherein the moving parts may be readily rendered steam-tight, and wherein no abrupt abutments either sliding or stationary are interposed in the steam course, while provision is made for the ready reversal of direction of rotation of the engine.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which drawin 's-- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the engine structure with one of the heads removed and certain parts shown in section. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the axis of the engine shaft, with parts shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section at right angles to the axis of the shaft of the engine with some parts omitted.

Referring to the drawings there is shown a cylindrical member or casing 1 mounted upon a suitable base 2, the said base being either cast with the casing 1 or formed separate therefrom and bolted or otherwise secured thereto. The casing 1 is an open ended cylinder and to the ends are applied the two heads 3, 4 each of which is formed with a central passage for an engine shaft 5 and adjacent to such passage the exterior of the head is formed with a bracket (Scarrying journal bearings 7 for the shaft. Upon the shaft 5 within the casing 1 there is secured a cylindrical drum 8.

The interior of the top of the casing 1 is formed with a boss or thickening 9 curved on a longer radius than the interior walls of the cylindrical casing 1 and at the ends merging in said walls so that the inner walls of the casing are struck from the axis of the shaft 5 and then approach said axis through a long entle curve until at the point intersected by the vertical axial plane of the machine the drum 8 and boss 9 are in close relation but the boss 9 recedes from the drum 8 from this point in both direc- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 3, 1909.

Patented Feb. 15, 1910.

Serial No. 505,942.

tions until it finally merges into the cylindrical interior walls of the casing 1.

In the drum 8 are a number of equidistantly disposed radial slots 10, three being shown in the structure illustrated in the drawings, it being understood however that this number may be Varied as desired. In each slot 10 there is housed a sliding vane or piston 11 having its outer edge recessed as shownat 12 for the reception of a packing strip 13 urged outwardly by a spring 1 1. The other or inner edge of each vane 11 is longitudinally recessed as shown at 15 for the reception of a bar 16 pivoted at the center to the vane 11 by a link 17 and at the ends projecting beyond the corresponding ends of the vane 11 and there carrying rollers 18 adapted to enter corresponding grooves 19 formed in the inner faces of the heads 3 and 4. These grooves 19 are shaped in conformity with the interior of the casing 1, that is for the greater portion of their length they are concentric with the inner wall of the casing 1 and for the remainder of their length they are concentric with the inner wall of the boss 9. These grooves serve to cause the projection and recession of the vanes 11 so that the only frictional engagement between these vanes and the inner walls of the casing 1 is that caused by the rubbing of the packing strips 13 and this need not be very pronounced. Along the grooves or recesses 10 in which the vanes 11 slide and near the periphery of the drum 8 there are formed longitudinal grooves 20 for the reception of suitable packing which will prevent the steam from entering the slots or recesses 10.

Applied to each end of the drum 8 is a disk 2.1 of somewhat greater diameter than the radial diameter of the inner periphery of the casing l as measured from the axis of the shaft 5. The outer edges of the disks or heads 21 enter annular recesses 22 formed in the ends of the casing 1 and between the bottoms of the recesses where they form shoulders 23 and the corresponding faces of the disks 21 there are introduced packing rings 24 seated in appropriate grooves formed in both the shoulders 23 and the corresponding faces of the disks 21. Oil cups or other suitable lubricant holders are carried by the casing 1 as indicated at 25 and these oil cups are designed to feed oil or other lubricant to the meeting faces of the disks 21 and shoulders 23 and also to the more interior faces of the boss 9 by leakage past the rings 24. Each head 21 is provided with radial slots 26 matching the slots or recesses 10 of the drum 8, these slots 26 being sufficiently long to permit the movement of the bars 16 with the vanes 11. Upon each bar 16 where it passes through a slot 26 there is mounted a block 27 movable in the slot 26 and serving to guide the bar 16 at this point and correspondingly relieve it from strains. Each head 3 and 4 carries an oil cup or other lubricant holder 28 with a suitable conduit for feeding oil to the interior of the groove 19 in the inner face of each head.

The face of the boss 9' on each side thereof where engaged by the inner face of a head or disk 21 is provided with grooves 28 for the reception of packing 29 which may be urged outwardly by springs 30 or other means. lVithin the boss 9 there is formed a chamber 31 and-this chamber is entered by a steam inlet pipe 32 carried by the casing 1. The steam inlet pipe also carries a centrifugal governor 33 of ordinary type and receives steam through a suitable supply pipe 34 provided with a valve 35 by means of which the inflow of steam to the pipe 32 may be controlled as desired. Entering the chamber 31 on each side of the steam inlet pipe 32 are sliding gates 36 adapted to open or close steam passages 37 leading from each end wall of the chamber 31 through the boss 9 to the steam course surrounding the drum 8. The inlet port of each steam passage 37 is at one side of the vertical plane extending through the axis of the rotor of the engine. Still farther removed from this plane are exhaust passages 38 leading from the steam course through the boss 9 and casing-1, and exterior thereto communicating with exhaust pipes 39 in each of which close to the casing there is included a valve 40. The exhaust pipe 39 may be brought together into a common exhaust pipe 41 at the base of the engine or the exhaust may be otherwise disposed of.

Mounted on the casing 1 is a bracket 42 carrying a lever 43 connected on opposite sides of its pivotal point by links 44 to the gates 36 so that as the lever is moved about its pivot the gates will participate in such movement but in opposite directions relative one to the other. Also mounted on the casing 1 are posts or supports 45 adjacent to the valves 40 and the posts or supports each carry a rock lever 46 connected at one end to the lever 43 and at the other end to a valve 40. The manipulating end of the lever 43 is formed into a hand-hold 47 with a latch lever 48 secured thereto and carrying a latch 49 in operative relation to a notched segment 50 mounted on the casing 1 or upon the bracket 42. By this means the lever 43 the left side as viewed in Fig. 1.

. shown in which case the gate 36 to the right of the axial plane mentioned is lowered so as to close the steam passage from the cham ber 31 to the steam course on that side of the chamber while the other gate is raised so as to open the corresponding steam passage from the chamber 31 to the steam course on At the same time the exhaust valve 40 to the left is closed and the exhaust valve 40 to the right is opened. Suppose now that the valve '35 is opened so as to admit steam through the pipe 32 to the chamber 31. The steam immediately finds its way into the steam course at the left of the upright vane 10. The steam on entering the steam course ultimately finds its way into engagement with the vane 11 to the left of the central vertical axial plane of the engine, and the expansive force of the steam is exerted against this vane and thereby impartsrotative movement to the rotor, since the action of the steam against the vane in the central axial plane of the engine is practically Zero. The resistance offered by the vane first considered, that is the one originally in the vertical axial plane of the engine while slightly more than zero as it reaches the steam inlet port is still practically negligible while the expansive force of the steam already in the steam course is forcibly impelling the rotor in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 by its action against the vane, which, to continue the clock face comparison is shown in the eight oclock position in Fig. 1. The pressure of the live steam against the vane shown in the 12 oclock position but which is assumed to have moved counterclockwise until beyond the left-hand steam port now becomes active to impart rotative movement to the rotor of the engine and this pressure becomes fully effective as soon as the second vane has reached that portion of the steam course where the inner wall of the casing 1 is concentric with the axis of rotation of the rotor of the engine. Assuming that steam is present in advance of the vane shown in Fig. 1 in the four oclock position, such steam will exhaust through the right-hand exhaust port. In this way continued rotation is imparted to the engine rotor without further attention on the part of the operator, the governor 33 regulating the admission of steam in accordance with the load.

To reverse the direction of the engine it is simply necessary to move the lever 43 in a direction to close the left-hand steam port to the steam course and to open the righthand steam port, this action also causing the opening of the left-hand exhaust valve and the closing of the right-hand exhaust valve 40. Under these conditions the engine will run clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1.

As the vanes move to or from the twelve oeloek position they are moved into or out of the rotor drum 8 by the action of the grooves 9 so that their free ends are maintained in light but effective contact with the inner wall of the boss 9. During the remainder of the rotation of the rotor the vanes 11. are fully projected and are held against the inner wall of the casing 1 by the grooves 9.

l/Vhat is claimed is 1. A rotary engine provided with a stator having an inwardly directed boss, a rotor within the stator meeting the boss at an intermediate point thereon, said boss also being provided with an internal chamber communicating with the steam course of the engine on each side of the chamber through suitable passages extending through the boss and opening into the steam course and also having exhaust passages on each side of the steam course extending through the boss to the exterior of the stator, sliding gates entering the chamber and adapted to traverse and close the steam passages therefrom, and means for operating the gates simultaneously in opposite directions.

2. A rotary engine having a stator provided with an inwardly directed boss formed at an intermediate point with an inclosed chamber, the said boss also being provided with steam passages leading there-through from the inelosed chamber to the inner face of the boss and with exhaust passages leading from the steam course of the engine at points more remote from the internal chamber of the boss than are the steam passages, said exhaust passages traversing the boss to the exterior of the stator, a steam pipe entering said chamber in the boss, sliding gates entering the chamber in the steam course and adapted to traverse the steam passages leading therefrom to the steam course of the engine, valves in the exhaust ducts and means for the simultaneous operation of the gates and exhaust valves in opposite directions.

3. In a rotary engine, a rotor provided with radially movable vanes, arms pivoted centrally to said vanes to rock on an axis transverse to the length of the arms, said arms extending beyond the ends of the rotor and there provided with guiding members, and a stator having ends provided with grooves entered by said guiding members and shaped in conformity with the peripheral shape of the inner walls of the steam course.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

KARL J. HOKANSON.

Witnesses:

H. P. MOREEN, EMANUEL HoxANsoN. 

